Lieutenant Commander Richard Allan Moran entered the U.S. Navy from Arkansas and served in Attack Squadron 15 embarked aboard the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid (CVS 11). On August 7, 1961, he was piloting an A-4B Skyhawk (bureau number 145040) and was returning to the Intrepid from a combat support mission. As he approached the carrier in a routine landing pattern, his aircraft was observed to lose altitude and crash into the sea for unknown reasons. No radio transmissions were received and LCDR Moran was not seen again. Extensive searches were conducted for the missing pilot but were unsuccessful. Today, Lieutenant Commander Moran is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. 

Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual's case to be in the analytical category of Non-recoverable.

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